Philippine Philex Delays Copper & Gold Mine Launch By Four Years
Philippine copper and gold company Philex Mining Corp said on Friday that the start of mining at its Silangan mine in the south of the country will be delayed four years until 2022, due to a national ban on new quarries. p>
The Silangan copper and gold mine could be Philex's largest source of revenue after its 61-year-old Padcal mine in the north of the country is forecast to close in 2022.
Silangan was originally slated to begin production in 2018, but failed due to a 2017 government ban on new open pit mining aimed at enhancing environmental protection.
Philex said in a statement on Friday that the company is considering an alternative project to enable underground mining.
“We are currently working to obtain all the necessary permits to operate in Silangan,” said CEO Eulalio Austin.
Silangan consists of three fields - Boyongan, Bayugo and Kalayaan, and by 2022, work on the latter should begin in cooperation with Manila Mining Corporation.
Silangan's development was previously estimated at $ 1.2 billion based on open pit mining. Philex has not provided any new cost estimate for the project at this time.